Rimbink Pato defends the countries asylum seeker deal with Australia

Updated
August 21, 2013 10:50:00

The Immigration Minister says a High Court challenge won't stop him from transferring asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea. Rimbink Pato has come out in strong support, defending his country's asylum seeker deal with Australia, saying the deal is already showing results.

TONY EASTLEY: The Immigration Minister, Tony Burke, says a High Court challenge won't stop him from transferring asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea. Lawyers lodged the challenge with the court yesterday,

Meanwhile Papua New Guinea's foreign minister has come out in strong support, defending his country's asylum seeker deal with Australia. Rimbink Pato says it's the only process that will work and he's dismissed Opposition criticisms coming from Australia. Speaking after a conference on asylum seekers in Indonesia, Mr Pato said the deal is already showing results.

Here's Indonesia correspondent George Roberts.

GEORGE ROBERTS: Rimbink Pato is sounding confident.

RIMBINK PATO: The partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea is one that will stand the test of time.

GEORGE ROBERTS: Last Saturday the country's prime minister Peter O'Neill was quoted as saying PNG could walk away from the deal to resettle Australia's unwanted refugees. But his foreign minister Mr Pato has shot down the Federal Opposition's suggestion that the deal was unravelling.

RIMBINK PATO: That is not true. We have a strong partnership with Australia. It's the same deal we did on that issue with the Howard government, then with Julia Gillard and then, now with Kevin Rudd. So unless there's a better solution, which I submit there isn't, this solution is to work.

GEORGE ROBERTS: In fact he says it's already been so successful some Iranian asylum seekers are asking to be sent home.

RIMBINK PATO: Fifty of them on the brief that I got today have agreed to return back to their country. And this is being processed through the international migration organisation.

GEORGE ROBERTS: That's being reported in small numbers in Indonesia as well. The country's new head of immigration enforcement is Ida Bagus Adnyana.

IDA BAGUS ADNYANA (translated): The trends that we have here is that there has been an increasing number of foreigners who want to voluntarily go back to their home countries, especially Iranians. There has been an increase in that number. It could be up by 10 people a week.

GEORGE ROBERTS: At the moment it's boats leaving Australia that have threatened regional diplomatic tension. A group of pro-west Papua independence activists from Australia is attempting to sail into the disputed Indonesian region without permission.

The Foreign Minister Bob Carr has written to them, warning they could face prison and no help from home.

BOB CARR: That's right. There'll be no consular support: one, because we're not obliged to; two, because the laws of the countries, they're going to obviously apply; and three, because I'm somewhat tired of seeing Australian taxpayers' money invested on a huge scale in support of people who've been given warnings and know that they're engaged in high risk behaviour.

GEORGE ROBERTS: The message has registered with the Indonesian government that Australia's on its side.